This is the Ultimate All-Butter Pie Crust ! It’s perfect for your favorite Lemon Meringue or Chocolate Cream Pie. Does it really matter? It’s pie and who doesn’t like pie? This fabulous recipe is incredibly easy and emits a heavenly buttery aroma throughout your home bringing warmth to your heart and a smile of satisfaction. You decide what type of pie you are in the mood for and get busy!
The Dough:
Grate cold butter and gently toss into the dry ingredients mixture to distribute evenly.
Rub the butter into the flour using your fingers to incorporate it throughout all the flour. It should appear.as shown.
Add 1 T. of ice water at a time. Stir with a wooden spoon until a ball begins to form. Press against the sides of the bowl, using your hands, to bring it together. You may be able to roll it inside the bowl to help form a ball shape.
Flatten into a disc shape. Wrap and chill for about an hour.
The Roll Out:
For a 9″ pie, Roll out dough to about 13″ in diameter.
Flour the pie dish you are using prior to laying on the dough, folded in half twice, then center. Unfold once to cover half of the pie pan. Adjust if necessary. Complete the unfolding so there is at least an inch overlaying the rim of the dish.
Fold under excess and crimp.
Proceed with instructions for your pie with a filling which needs to be baked at this point.
Blind Bake: (No-Bake Filling)
To blind bake, place parchment paper on top of crust an place about a pound of dry beans, seen below, spreading them out evenly to the sides of the crust. These beans can be re-used; just store in a Ziploc bag for future pies. Another option you have is to buy pie weights.The purpose of this process is to prevent the crust from shrinking or bubbling while baking. Whichever method you use should provide you wonderful results and a smile of success. After baking for 20 minutes, remove beans or weights by lifting parchment paper from pie crust. Look at this! Fist pump!
Now, we are not finished yet. Prick the sides and bottom of the pie crust as seen below and return to the oven for about 15 more minutes or until lightly golden in color.
Allow crust to cool completely before adding desired pie filling. In the meantime, place a chair nearby and inhale the buttery goodness! Heaven!
Wait! …. There’s more !
When making an Dutch Apple Pie this past fall, I discovered a trick for preventing a soggy bottom crust. After the first bake, and after pricking with a fork, whisk an egg white until frothy and liberally brush the bottom, sides and even the crust edges. .I used up about all that I had then continued with the last bake. Isn’t it just beautiful? It tends to form a barrier to moisture so your crust stays dry. You can see this nice flaky crust at the bottom of this Fresh Strawberry Pie.
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Cook time:
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Serves: 1-9" crust
- 1¼ c. All Purpose flour-(If using White Lily Flour, add 2 T. plus 1-1/2 t. more flour.)
- ¼ t. salt
- ½ t. sugar
- ½ c. butter, cold and grated
- 2 T. ice water
- 1 egg white, whisked until frothy(* for a blind-baked crust)
- Whisk dry ingredients together.
- Grate cold butter and toss into flour mixture to distribute evenly.
- Rub butter between your thumb and forefingers to incorporate the butter into the flour mixture. (You could use a pastry blender, but hands are so much more fun!)
- Add 1 T. of ice water at a time until a ball begins to form. Stir in with a wooden spoon and begin to press the mixture into the side of the bowl to compress the dough. Then, using your hands, begin to roll dough around the bottom of the bowl for the ball to come to formation. Do not add any more than 2 tablespoons of ice water.
- Flatten into a disc shape. Wrap and chill for about an hour.
- For a 9 inch pie, roll disc into a 13 inch circle, flipping dough as you go to ensure both sides are flour coated and not sticking to the pastry mat.
- Wrap dough onto floured rolling pin and roll out onto pie pan. or....
- Fold into quarters. Place folded dough into center of pie pan. Unfold and allow for about a 1' overhang from pan on all sides.
- Gently press against bottom and sides of pan.
- Tuck overhang under on rim and crimp.
- If this is a baked shell for a one-crust pie, place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes to chill before baking.
- Blind-Bake Directions
- To blind bake it, line a sheet of parchment paper in bottom of pie pan and place pie weights or a pound of dry beans evenly across bottom and towards and against the sides.
- Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes.
- Take pan from oven and lift parchment paper, with pie weights or beans, off of crust.
- Using a fork, Prick sides and bottom.
- Liberally brush the bottom, sides and crust edges with the egg white.
- Return crust to the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
- Allow it to cool on a wire rack before placing filling inside it.
